Arthur Character Clerihews Season 2b
by Crossover Dreamer
Summary: Poems about Arthur, D.W., Francine, Buster, Muffy, Brain, Sue Ellen, Binky, and Fern during the second half of season 2. This is my third collection of Arthur Character Clerihews. Please read and review. Sitcom trivia included!


_**Author's Notes**_

I consider the second season of _Arthur_ a mixed bag. This is even truer for the second half of the second season. Some of these episodes I think are great, others good, others okay, and others I can live without ever seeing again. What I liked the least about the second half of season 2 was how the third-graders of Mr. Ratburn's class are usually have above average intelligence, but when Buster has to leave town to live with his dad and travel around the world with him, they suddenly become as dumb as Buster. Okay, so Binky and Muffy don't act all that different than usual, but I can't seem to figure out why the writers made Brain act so differently in each episode. His personality varies dramatically from "Water and The Brain" to "Love Notes for Muffy" to "Arthur vs. the Very Mean Crossing Guard" (misnomer) to "Finders Key-pers" (possibly the worst-written episode without any dream sequences or disturbing fantasy sequences).

Could it be on account of him spending a lot of time over at the Reads' house, where he could easily be subconsciously influenced by Arthur's little sister D.W.? I think that's a big part of it.

Arthur the Ashamed  
Aimed  
At beating  
Everyone by cheating.

D.W. the Tattle-Tale  
Would make her whistle wail  
If she thinks she sees  
Danger. But then she's climbing trees!

Francine the Eclectic  
Says that Catherine's style makes here sick  
Then it's Catherine's turn to mock  
Francine's lizard, lamp, and clock.

Buster the Faraway Friend  
Would send  
Arthur fan fiction about Robin Hood  
Which makes Arthur feel good.

Muffy the Deceptive  
Didn't give  
The others credit for the cookie recipe  
Because she was concerned about her destiny.

Brain the Insane  
Is extremely inconsistent, that is plain.  
"Fifty-fifty-fifty"?  
Not very nifty.

Sue Ellen the Creative  
Is the "big sister" of a native  
Of Tibet.  
Her best journal entry yet!

Binky the Passer-By  
Is a guy  
Who likes bananas and macaroni and cheese.  
But not together, if you please.

Fern the Slumber Party Host  
Is the most  
Brilliant kid while Buster's away.  
It probably would have been better for him to stay.

_**Author's Notes**_

Actually, I am quite fond of _Arthur's_ running gag of D.W. and Brain having a lot in common. Often times I find the irony believable, other times, not so much.

There are some examples of believable "acasually paralleled" companions on classic sitcoms. There's _Leave It to Beaver's_ Beaver and June Cleaver, where the parallels are most prominent whenever father Ward expects his son Beaver to be exactly like him when he was his age. But then June suggests to Ward that maybe Beaver is more like her than Ward.

Another example is _Get Smart's_ Max and Larabee. This gag is a bit more long-term. How this one is laid out is that for the first three seasons, the Chief of Control gets frustrated with Max because he's a bumbling idiot. But by the fourth season, the Chief becomes more fond of Max as Max becomes more mature. But then the Chief sees Max's fallacies in his secretary Larabee who is naturally around the Chief more often, which makes the Chief more frustrated with him than he was with Max.

Then there's _Full House's_ Michelle Tanner and Joey Gladstone. Michelle is the youngest of the three Tanner Girls, and Joey is the most juvenal of the three men living under the Tanners' roof. The bond between Michelle and Joey is quite evident. There are even some similarities between Michelle and Joey that are placed seasons apart.

I wanted to tell you about the running gags of these sitcoms because I have observed how D.W. and Brain not only have a lot in common with each other, but also with these sitcom characters who have a lot in common. Am I crazy, or are _Arthur's_ writers actually paying homage to these sitcoms? You be the judge.


End file.
